


Dancing into Danger

by SonicCeleste



Series: The Life of the Moon Guardian [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Bard Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), But for now this will have to do, Dancer Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Gen, I wish XIV let you put scars on your character, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), more characters to be added later probably, rated mature for future chapters, tags are still hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-16 10:26:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21506356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonicCeleste/pseuds/SonicCeleste
Summary: No’a Katri is known for being both a long-range warrior and immaculate in his appearance.So how did he come to get an enormous sword scar across his chest?
Series: The Life of the Moon Guardian [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902067
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

The Warrior of Darkness that Norvrandt knew was a strikingly clean and tidy one - a Mystel with carefully styled hair as blue as aetherytes and eyes like amber, shaded with a careful layer of rolanberry to match his trademark face tattoos. Regardless of what he was wearing or who he was fighting, the Warrior of Darkness always seemed to emerge unscathed, looking as bright and tidy when he finished the battle as when he started. A good hero has to look the part, after all.

This was not the warrior that the Exarch saw in front of him.

“What... are you wearing?” He asked, trying very hard to keep a straight face as he looked at No’a’s outfit - or rather, lack of outfit.

“Oh, this? It’s my Dancer gear,” No’a replied cheerfully while shaking rock dust out of his hair, as if he hadn’t just stepped through the Portal into the Ocular in nothing but a loose, dirty pair of trousers and sandals. “Haven’t brushed up on my dancing in a while, but I had an urge to get back into it. Neat, right?”

When the other Miqo’te failed to respond, he gave himself a quick once-over. “Uh… Don’t think I was injured… Oh! You’re probably looking at the tattoo, right? It’s new but don’t worry, it’s just a glamour,” he said simply, tapping the markings on his left arm absentmindedly as he spoke. “The only real ones l’ll ever get are already on my face - I’m plenty handsome already without getting more. Don’t you think so, Raha?”

That got him out of his daze. G’raha blinked, processing, before nodding slowly. No’a huffed in an over-exaggerated fashion, hands on his hips. “Hey. I know I’m your ‘inspiration’, and the one who saved two worlds a week ago,  _ and _ particularly easy on the eye...”

_ Understatement _ , G’raha thought instantly.  _ …Wait- _

“... but there’s clearly something bothering you if you’re staring at me for THAT long. What’s up, Raha?”

G’raha opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it, concentrating on his fidgeting hands as he tried to think of the most polite words to say. “It’s just that I’ve... never seen you properly shirtless before, so the, uh... seeing how big the scar on your chest is… was a bit of a surprise.”

_ Another understatement _ , G’raha thought. He knew No’a wasn’t the untouchable hero the legends spoke of - watching the Light corrupt him was something that would certainly haunt him for a long time. Even so, as a Bard he typically fought long-distance, and so had very few battle scars to speak of.

So how exactly did he come to gain a terrifyingly large, slash-shaped scar going entirely across his torso from his right hip to his left shoulder?

No’a glanced down at his chest, his hand ghosting over the scar tissue on his stomach before looking back up at the Exarch, his face unreadable. “You wanna know how I got it?”

Well that was a surprise. “If it’s ok with you,” G’raha replied cautiously - he knew No’a’s struggle to say no to people and didn’t want to force him. No’a nodded wordlessly and sat down on the steps to the portal, G’raha following suit. No’a bent his head down, his blue and white fringe falling in front of his face as his voice got darker.

“The truth is... I was cut in half.”

G’raha blinked once, twice. “... That’s not true,” he muttered flatly.

“Well yeah, but it sure felt like that’s what happened,” No’a said, looking back up with a grin. The Exarch gave him a look and sighed. Wicked white, this man was impossible sometimes.

“Nah, but really,” No’a continued, “it was Zenos. It was at the start of the whole thing with Ala Mhigo. We were scouting out the imperial strongholds - the twins, myself, and Raubahn’s son Pipin. It was hot, so I was shirtless, as you do…”

G’raha chuckled lightly. No’a looked at him fondly before continuing, staring up at the ceiling.

“... But then the Garleans found and invaded Rhalgr’s Reach. I didn’t have time to get my bow, much less any better armour, so I had to use what I had on me. It was going pretty well, all things considered, until...”

He fell silent, his face unreadable again. The Exarch’s ears lowered in concern as he reached out to touch No’a’s unscarred shoulder. “You... don’t have to keep going, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“What, stared at the giant ugly battle scar?” No’a said with a teasing grin - though there was an obvious pain betraying him in his eyes. “It’s ok Raha, I want to tell you. I… I think it’ll help, honestly.”

“If you think so,” G’raha said gently. “Continue whenever you’re ready.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flashback! Also, just be warned that there are mentions of blood if you don’t like that stuff.

Lightning cracked and fire burned. Spells were flung and swords were clashed, and lives were being lost left and right on both sides. A hidden stronghold turned into a bloody battlefield, all in a mere couple of bells. It sent a shiver down No’a’s spine - though he supposed that was also due to being half-dressed.

“Seven hells… How did they find us?” Alphinaud muttered as they gazed at the carnage taking over Rhalgr’s Reach.

“Questions are to be asked afterwards, Alphinaud,” Krile replied sternly. “For now, let’s see what we can do to help.”

“Wait,” Alisaie interrupted, glancing over at the Miqo’te. “We need to find you some proper armour, maybe a bow too. You’re not as used to your chakrams yet-“

“There’s no time,” No’a said firmly, looking over at the scene in front of them. Sensing the girl’s reluctance, however, he turned to her and grinned. “I’ll be fine, Alisaie, I promise! Warriors of Light aren’t beaten so easily. Just try to keep up with me, yeah?”

That did it - Alisaie pouted and quickly summoned her sword, a new fierce look on her face. “Don’t forget who managed to knock down the Warriors of Darkness, pretty boy,” she said sharply, though with a smirk on her face.

Pipin jogged up to the front of the group and raised his sword high, and with a cry of “Forward!” they all headed into the battle. Alphinaud and Krile found and healed Resistance members where they could, the other three fighting off Garlean soldiers and aiding those still in battle. Eventually they managed to force their way further in and find Lyse, Kemp and Y’shtola - the blonde tied up while the other two looked like they were left for dead. Krile nearly tripped over herself as she sprinted over, healing magicks at her fingertips with Alphinaud close behind.

“My lord, the prisoners!”

No’a’s ear flicked at the voice several fulms away. Fordola… but if she said “Lord”, then…

“Oh, gods…” Alisaie gasped.

A tall figure in black, bulky armour - easily a much higher rank than any of the soldiers - strode almost leisurely through the battlefield until he finally stood in front of No’a, ignoring the carnage happening around him.

“Your friends were a disappointment...” Zenos said, dangerously casual as thunder rumbled above him. “But you. You will entertain me, will you not?”

Everything about the man screamed power and confidence, but in a way that would make any normal man tremble in fear before he was struck down. If he so desired, he could probably kill everyone in the Reach without a second thought. Y’shtola’s blood on his armour and the multitude of swords hung at his side made it clear he was not a man to take lightly under any circumstances.

_ However _ , No’a thought,  _ neither am I. _

“Depends on what you’re looking for, Mr Tall, Dark and Bloodthirsty,” he quipped back with a taunting grin and dramatic flick of his long hair. “I’ve beaten Garleans, Primals, Ascians - even ended the war between dragon and man. So if you’re looking for someone to knock you flat on your arse, that’s what you’re getting!”

“ _ No’a… _ ” Alisaie warned. Even if he was the Warrior of Light, the reality was that he was a 5 fulm 2 Miqo’te in little else but trousers and sandals, standing against someone easily towering over him who was both heavily armed and heavily armoured. For gods’ sake, he needed to be  _ careful _ , not bait the Garlean lord into a fight!

“Alisaie, I’ll be  _ fine, _ ” No’a muttered sharply before turning back to the figure in front of him. The only thing on his mind now was getting this  _ godsforsaken war over and done with _ , because it wasn’t like he could say no when everyone was looking to him as the strongest man they had, and he  _ knew _ he could do it - he hadn’t been beaten a single time in battle yet. What was Alisaie even worried about? This would be  _ fine _ .

Zenos let out a breath that almost sounded like a chuckle. “Such spirit from one so foolhardy - however, I thought the Warrior of Light was a bard?”

No’a shrugged. “Just goes to show how important I think you are if I don’t use my strongest job, doesn’t it? Now, less talking, more fighting.”

“I agree.”

Alphinaud was watching from afar by a long-dead tree as he used his healing magicks on Kemp. When... when did No’a turn into this overconfident aggressor? He was always the silent but strong type when he was “on the job”, as he put it, but ever since the Dragonsong War ended it was like he had both gained an enormous ego and lost a large amount of patience - a complete turnaround from the honorable bard he first got to know. Both changes could be justified by his being the Warrior of Light and saving the nations numerous times, but… it was worrying.

Alphinaud decided he was going to talk to No’a about his behaviours - like he had done before after the Bloody Banquet - once he defeated Zenos, and stopped watching in favour of better helping Krile.

With a flourish of steel chakrams against armour, the battle began. Alisaie and Pipin fought with all they had, aether and thick steel clashing against foreign blades time and time again, but they were quickly overpowered by Zenos early in the fight and with a shout from No’a to get somewhere safe, left the Warrior of Light on his own. In all honesty, No’a knew he’d be a tough opponent - he wouldn’t expect a Garlean lord to be anything less - but not  _ this tough _ . The long range of his attacks was a blessing as it allowed the Miqo’te to dodge the sword attacks easily, throwing his chakrams at any spot on Zenos that could be even a tiny bit weaker than the rest of his bulky armour, but the godsdamned man still just  _ wouldn’t go down. _ Not even so much as a flinch when one chakram whistled past his helmet.

To anyone else this would be terrifying, the prospect of a seemingly invincible enemy - to the war-weary Miqo’te, it was just getting frustrating. Was he even hurting him at all? … No, he was. This was the strongest No’a had ever been, he had to have been causing  _ some _ damage!

“What a pitiful display.” Zenos shook his head in disappointment. “While I enjoy watching you struggle to survive, Warrior of Light, I fear your words spoke louder than your actions.”

A sudden shockwave knocked No’a off his feet, but he went to stand back up and growled under his breath, vision blurring as every part of his body ached. He tried to ignore it - he was  _ not _ going to be beaten here, and  _ certainly _ not to a mere Garlean-

_ Black armour. _

_ Sword drawn. _

_ Pain. _

All he could feel was a sudden, searing hot pain across his bare chest delivered with such a force that it sent him into the air, his back hitting the hard dirt with a sickening noise - he landed on one of his chakrams, if the cold steel and further feeling of pain on his lower back were anything to go by. No’a could vaguely hear the Scions - Alisaie sounded terrified, Lyse sounded enraged - but the loud ringing in his ears meant he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“Pathetic.”

But of course he could hear Zenos’ final words as he walked away. Of course he couldn’t have that small act of mercy.

The Miqo’te tried to get up, tried his damnedest to get back up and  _ fight like everyone wanted him to _ , but each movement made the agonising pain across his torso even more pronounced. He couldn’t even bring himself to cry out from the pain - each breath alone felt like fire. With his left shoulder out of commission, he gingerly put his right hand over his stomach and - fuck, ok, that was his skin sliced open and that was  _ a lot of blood _ . Panic quickly set in - did he hit any major organs? How deep was the wound? Where did that whoreson of a Garlean lord go?

_ … No. Don’t think about him. _

Were the others safe?

“Seven hells… We need a healer here,  _ now!” _

A new voice, close by so No’a could hear it somewhat clearly - Raubahn. Out of his peripheral vision he saw a blurred figure kneel beside him - then it was quickly gone as his vision started filling with darkness. He could feel himself being slowly lifted, sending him reeling; then the chakram being slid away from where he had been laying; then the start of a soothing sensation as he was laid back down - a sweet relief that made him breathe out a delirious laugh.

“Rau?” No’a breathed - he could barely see anything now but knew the Highlander was still there.

He felt a large hand gently fall on his head. “What is it, lad?” Raubahn asked.

“The others…?”

“Are going to be alright. You will be too, I promise.”

“Mm…”

As No’a closed his eyes and felt his consciousness fading, he realised he’d have to apologise to Alisaie for breaking his promise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything falls apart a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this took so long to write...

Purring.

That’s the first thing No’a heard as he slowly regained consciousness. A loud, familiar rumble, one he hadn’t heard since his childhood. He slowly opened his eyes and looked for the source.

“Qhita…?”

The Miqo’te woman was sat on a stool and hunched over on his bed, eyes closed and seemingly asleep. “Seemingly” being the key word, as his sister was often more alert than she appeared.

… Wait. Bed? Where was he?

He went to sit up, only to be met with an excruciating pain throughout his chest that made him curse and suck air in through his teeth.  _ Ah, right. That happened. _

All of a sudden magenta eyes shot open and No’a found himself being firmly pushed back onto the bed by an obviously pissed off Qhita.

“Ugh, let go… How come you’re here anyway sis?” No’a mumbled, still waking up. The woman sighed, a mixture of exasperation and relief.

“Nice to see ya again too. That Elezen boy asked me to come ‘ere just in case, seeing how you almost got yourself damn well killed like a dumbass. Now stay there, and  _ don’t move _ ,” she snapped, before standing up and walking out of the infirmary before he could argue that he  _ didn’t get himself killed so what was the problem? _

Resigning to his bedbound fate the time being, he glanced at the small wooden cabinet next to his bed, where his chakrams had been carefully placed, and let his mind wander. Was Pip doing ok back at the Rising Stones?

_ He remembered hearing the thunder clapping and the lightning strikes illuminating the battlefield. _

F’lhaminn promised to keep the overweight chick well-fed, but was he being normal well-fed or  _ Pip _ well-fed?

_ He remembered the ground had that wet rain smell he loved back in his hunting days, mixed in with the metallic stench of his own blood. The thought suddenly made him feel nauseous. _

It felt like he’d been a chick for eternity… Maybe he was one of those small breeds? That could be why he puts on weight so easily...

_ “Pathetic.” _

No’a looked away from the cabinet and shakily let out a breath he didn’t realise he had held, raising his right arm over his eyes with a groan. Of course he couldn’t stop thinking about that battle. It  _ was _ pathetic, honestly, and he was furious with himself; after everything he’d accomplished, one single Garlean lord was what knocked him down. Not the dragons, not the Ultima Weapon. Just one Garlean. Why wasn’t he able to beat him? Was that viceroy more powerful than anything else he’d faced?

No, he couldn’t be - No’a was the strongest weapon Eorzea had, and Zenos was just one man! Maybe… Maybe Alisaie was right, maybe he should’ve gotten his bow instead. Maybe then he could’ve won, if he had stuck to what he knew best. The battle might’ve been over by now. Zenos would be dead, Ala Mhigo liberated. He might have finally gotten that peace he’s been hoping for since the banquet if he had  _ just picked up a godsdamned bow. _

But he hadn’t, and he had been  _ defeated. _ Cut down like some overgrown shrubbery, and now he had to  _ wait _ to recover. Except that he couldn’t wait. Weapons didn’t  _ wait. _ If he had time to stay still, he had time to fight.

What else was he good for?

With another shaky sigh, No’a braced himself. “Right, up we get...”

He slowly sat up again, this time pushing down the pain that made his head spin and his breathing ragged. He went to get out of bed, but all the effort of moving combined with the blankets on top of him feeling like a ten-tonze weight on him meant it could only end up badly.

He didn’t care.

He fell and landed on the floor in a crumpled heap, blankets turning into a messy cocoon around his legs as he cried out, almost  _ screaming _ . But he still tried to push through it. To push down the fresh shock of pain that felt like it was splitting him in two; push through the sensation of the bandages around his torso slowly sticking to his skin; push through his vision going dark around the edges.  _ He had to. _

The Miqo’te eventually sat up and leant against the cabinet, the handles digging uncomfortably into his other, smaller wound just above his tail from where he landed on his chakrams. At least that one seemed to be healing up well.  _ One less thing to worry about on the battlefield. _

“Almost there,'' he mumbled, staring up at the ceiling as he caught his breath and his vision started clearing. “All I need to do now is stand up, then… then I can get back into it. I’ll be fine. I have to be.”

“Vhano’a! What- Oh, for gods’ sake…”

He heard multiple people rush over to him, then saw a small figure in yellow crouching down, inspecting, then removing the bandages around his chest that were slowly seeping red. Krile shot him an icy glare that might’ve made him recoil if he could see her face properly.

“What were you  _ thinking _ , trying to get out of bed?” She scolded, putting her healing magic to work. “We’d only just gotten your wound to seal up, and now you go act like a fool and reopen it!”

No’a ignored her chiding. “Where are the others?”

Krile narrowed her eyes at his response and simply motioned behind her, focusing on her healing. No’a looked up; with his vision clear now, he could see Alphinaud and Alisaie were closest, hovering over him with identical expressions of worry on their faces; meanwhile Qhita was leaning on the doorway to the infirmary, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Typical Katri huntress.

“Hey. You two alright?” No’a asked the twins, forcing a smile. Alphinaud opened his mouth as if to say something but decided against it - a rare occurrence - instead looking at Alisaie next to him. She was shaking, head hung low as she spoke.

“You broke your promise.”

No’a’s eyes widened and he felt an entirely different ache hearing her broken voice, but like everything else at that moment he pushed it down, forcing another smile. “Ah, right, sorry for scaring you back there. But hey, I said I’ll be fine, and I’m fine now, aren’t I?”

“You  _ weren’t  _ fine!” She snapped, glaring at him. “You were slashed across the chest, No’a! All that blood… You looked close to  _ death _ when Raubahn carried you into the infirmary!”

“But I  _ didn’t  _ die, and that’s what matters.” Menphina help him, this was getting frustrating. “Just give me a minute, alright? When Krile’s finished I’ll be up and back on the frontlines like nothing happened, liberating Ala Mhigo-“

“Until you go to fight and the wound reopens again from the strain,” Krile replied matter-of-factly, dusting herself off as she stood up, her healing finished. “Even if Alphinaud or I were to follow you every step of the way, your wound wouldn’t heal smoothly from exertion, and something that big is at significant risk of infection.”

Was he supposed to worry about something like that?

“What you need to do is rest, No’a - what Zenos did to you could take  _ moons _ -“

“I don’t  _ have _ moons, Krile,” No’a snapped back, speaking through gritted teeth as he stood up, gripping the bed for balance - thankfully Krile’s magic had stopped the wound from bleeding any further, leaving a just-bearable ache. “I need to get back out there, find that - ow -  _ whoreson _ of a viceroy, and get rid of him before the  _ next _ war comes along!”

“We’ll be fine in the time it takes for you to recover, No’a,” Alphinaud told him. It looked like the Miqo’te’s patience was running  _ very _ thin, so the Elezen spoke slowly, carefully. “You must remember, there’s a small army outside here, all hoping to reclaim their homeland after years of torment. You’re not the only one fighting in the Resistance-“

“But I’m the only one who  _ matters! _ ”

Silence. Absolute, chilling silence as all eyes in the room turned on the Miqo’te, patience finally worn through as he stared down at the bed he was balancing against, hunched over and aggressive like an injured animal.

“... Is that so?” Alphinaud asked after some time, voice dangerously even. No’a scoffed.

“Are you joking? I’m the one who stopped the Ultima Weapon, I slew the Heavens’ Ward and Nidhogg! The war against the dragons lasted thousands of years, but I stopped it in  _ one! _ ” The Miqo’te glared at Alphinaud; the Elezen stared back at him calmly. “Look me in the  _ eye _ , Alphie, and tell me that those battles would have been won if I wasn’t there! Tell me that the Dragonsong War would’ve been won without the Weapon of Light!”

“Weapon…?” Alphinaud repeated with a concerned tone. Judging by Krile’s concerned glance behind him, to the doorway, he wasn’t the only one who noticed No’a’s phrasing. “I know the  _ Warrior of Light _ was a key role in those battles, alongside  _ many other people, _ but I don’t recall a Weapon of Light ever being used...”

No’a barked out a single, dark laugh. “But that’s all I am now, aren’t I? All I’ve ever  _ been  _ since I started killing Primals is a  _ weapon _ for people to use when they can’t do things on their own! You did it too, Alphie, don’t try to deny it! And a  _ weapon  _ can’t rest, not until- agh, shit…!”

Krile and the twins rushed over to steady No’a as his legs buckled from overexertion. He grasped at his chest, taking deep breaths to calm both himself and the lingering pain down.

“I have… fuck… I have to keep going. You don’t understand, if I can’t fight, if I don't win these wars for Eorzea, for the Scions, then… then what good am I?”

Qhita shook her head and walked out.

Silence fell again; this time a kinder, sympathetic hush. Alisaie looked up at him, at how his usually bright amber eyes were dull and surrounded by dark circles, and frowned. “You’re  _ very _ lucky Lyse is too busy meeting with Raubahn and Master Kemp to hear you say that rubbish about being the only important warrior in the Resistance.”

“... Yeah, I know,” was the mumbled reply.

Alphinaud tried to use some of his own healing magic as he and Alisaie gently guided No’a to sit on the edge of the bed. He wouldn’t have to wait for that private conversation now, he supposed - though now that he knew what was going through the Miqo’te’s head, he was even more worried than before. His hunch was right in that all the fighting and victories had affected their friend; just not in the way he’d expected. What appeared to be reckless overconfidence beforehand was at its core just a disregard of self-preservation. It might’ve made sense in No’a’s current mindset; why bother being careful with himself if he - the “weapon” - had never lost a fight? 

Now he  _ had _ lost, however, with an injury that would likely serve as a grim reminder of his failure for years to come, but he was  _ still _ trying to get up and fight. Not because he wanted to - or maybe he did want to? Alphinaud wasn’t sure anymore. He doubted even No’a knew. The only thing the Elezen boy knew was that something needed to change, and soon - the Scions were partly responsible for this, after all. But where to start…

“Feel better now that you’ve had a good shout, Vhano’a?” Qhita called out, having returned with a satchel in her hands. The sudden voice in the silence made Alphinaud jump, which Alisaie snickered at. All eyes in the room fell on No’a and waited for his response, the silence quickly growing deafening. Alphinaud got a sense of deja vu.

A deep breath. “Yeah. Sorry,” No’a said quietly, rubbing tiredness - or something else - out of his eyes. “I thought I left all… that… behind.”

“That?” Alphinaud repeated.

“He means his being a stubborn dumbass that won’t listen,” Qhita interjected a little too quickly before dropping the parcel onto her brother’s lap. “The number of times I’ve had to drag him outta shit, I swear… Anyroad, there’s some clothes and sewing shit you left with me a while back, since you’re gonna be antsy staying in bed for the next couple days. Need anything else?”

No’a furrowed his brow. “I never agreed to stay, sis.”

The Miqo’te woman ran a hand through her short hair and sighed, looking at Alisaie and flicking her wrist dismissively. “See? Stubborn dumbass.”

Alisaie tried and failed to suppress a laugh, while Alphinaud discussed something with Krile. The Lalafell hopped onto the stool that Qhita once occupied and quickly glanced over No’a’s wound. “It’s still holding together, at least,” she told him before sighing. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but Alphinaud and I agreed that if you’re still insistent on fighting as soon as possible… there is something we can do.”

Blue ears perked up. “There is?”

“That’s not to say you could head out right this second,” she chided quickly. No’a’s gaze and ears quickly fell back down. “Like your sister said, you still need to rest for at least a few days. However, once you can move around and fight without too much strain we can give you a concoction to go directly onto the wound that will protect against infection as well as act as a painkiller. It’s not a perfect solution by any means - it won’t heal any quicker and it’ll leave worse scarring than if you were to stay in the infirmary, but since you’re being so stubborn about it…”

“... Thank you, Krile.”

——————

“So for the whole of the Doman and Ala Mhigan liberation, you were looking after that horrific injury?” G’raha asked. “I knew it was from Zenos, there was a record of that day, but since there wasn’t any mention of it I believed it healed relatively quickly, and that it was… well, smaller.”

“Ah, yeah, I wore high-necked tunics while I had the bandages so no-one would’ve known outside the Scions,” No’a explained, leaning back on the Ocular steps. “I didn’t want to worry anyone, you know how it is.”

G’raha nodded. “If I may… Did the Scions ever apologise for how they treated you?”

No’a looked at him with a confused tilt of his head. “Why would they need to apologise? I was the one effing and blinding at them.”

“Even so… It seemed to me that they treated your outburst like a nuisance instead of a cry for help.”

It took a moment, but No’a’s eyes widened in realisation at the Exarch’s words. Now that he thought about it… He brought his gaze to the floor.

“I… don’t remember any of them apologising directly, but… That must’ve been when it started.”

“When what started, sorry?” G’raha asked.

No’a looked up, staring at the ceiling as he spoke. “Around the time we went to Doma, the twins started acting differently. They took turns helping me with the medicine, then used that time to chat. At first I thought they were just doing it out of obligation - Alphie had his ‘I’m an adult’ voice on, y’know-“

He cleared his throat and put on a posh, precise voice. “I am sixteen years old and impeccably pompous, but that will not stop me from meddling in foreign political affairs!”

G’raha chuckled. No’a smiled at him fondly before continuing.

“Allie wasn’t great at holding the more emotional conversations either - she’d just get frustrated when I tried to say everything was fine. But as time went on, we just started talking about anything and everything. Sometimes they’d ask me to sing them a song I was working on; sometimes the others, like Lyse, would come over and ‘help’ just so we could all talk together. I started looking forward to dealing with the injury; instead of being reminded of that battle, I’d think of the conversations instead. It made me feel less like a weapon and more like a person again. It… It really helped, getting closer to the Scions. I think that was their way of apologising.”

G’raha nodded again, more solemnly this time. “Have you had another moment like that since?”

No’a shook his head and grinned - a genuine one. “Nope! I’ve got them to thank for that - Zenos too I guess, for giving me one hell of a humbling.” He ghosted his hand across his chest, over the scar. “Definitely won’t forget that anytime soon, but I actually think that’s for the best. Can’t rest on my laurels, especially when we need to find a way to get the others back to the Source, right?”

“Right,” G’raha confirmed with a smile. “Thank you for telling me, No’a. I know it was difficult, but I appreciate you trusting me enough to do so.”

“I trust you with everything, sweetness, you know that~” The dancer chuckled and nudged the Exarch playfully as he stuttered, flustered. No’a wondered if he’d ever get the hint. “Thank you for listening to me, though, Raha. Oh! Before I forget - I was training at the Azim Steppe and I got some new desserts at Reunion… I got this tiger tooth for you too, though maybe I should clean that first…”


End file.
